I have had a few experiences in placing mail orders with companies in England
(or rather, the UK). I live in the USA, and for me the simplest method is to
choose a vendor which accepts Mastercard / Visa. You simply make the purchase,
and the vendor charges, let's say, 200 Pounds UK against your credit card.
Your bank will handle the currency conversion, and your statement will show a
credit card purchase in the amount of around $300 or $350 US Dollars. Your
credit card bank may issue a transaction fee of a few dollars, but that won't
be much to worry about. As for duties & customs, I have no idea. You're at
the mercy of the Government. Now in my experience, there was one occasion in
which my package came to me by my local FedEx carrier, and I received a bill
from FedEx a short while later for something like $20 for customs fees. On the
other occasions, I never received any such invoices from anyone, so
apperantly, no one cared.
Go ahead and choose a vendor who will process a mail order purchase by credit
card, and don't worry about the details.
Dale Wein

TeleDale Key Service,
http://www.angelfire.com/wizard/teledale
1811 Saratoga Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44109 U.S.A.